Cricket Scoring

What's The Score?

Obvously, the tally of runs scored by a side is an important number to know. Also important for an innings currently in progress is how may wickets have fallen. A side that has scored 100 runs for the loss of no wickets is in a much better position than a side that has scored 120 runs for the loss of 8 wickets. For this reason, the score of an innings in progress indicates both the number of runs and the number of wickets, and is written in one of two ways:

<runs>/<wickets> e.g. 200/3 (in most of the world), or
<wickets>/<runs> e.g. 3/200 (in Australia).

This is spoken as:

"<runs> for <wickets>" e.g. "two-hundred for three" (in most of the world), or
"<wickets> for <runs>" e.g. "three for two-hundred" (in Australia).

The reason Australians express the score the other way around is not clear, and lost in the mists of history. Cricket fans anywhere will generally understand the score either way around, unless the number of runs is 10 or fewer, in which case it can be ambiguous. When absolute clarity is required, the word "wickets" can be inserted after the number of wickets. If the number of wickets is 0, it is usually spoken as "none" or "no wicket", almost never as "nought" or "zero".

Previous innings by either side, which have been completed, can be expressed either:

In the same way. e.g. 300/10, "three-hundred for ten".
If the innings was declared closed before ten wickets fell: with the word "declared" appended. e.g. 300/7 declared, "three-hundred for seven declared".
If all the batsmen were either out or could not bat due to injury: as the number of runs plus "all out". e.g. 300 all out, "three-hundred all out".
Simply as the total number of runs. e.g. 300 "three-hundred".

The Progress Score

The number of runs a side scores in its first and second innings are never added together when expressing the score. The overall score for the match, depending on the progress of the game, is expressed as:

<Side A> <1st innings>
e.g. England 200/5.
<Side A> <1st innings>, <Side B> <1st innings>
e.g. England 300, Australia 100/2.
<Side A> <1st innings> and <2nd innings>, <Side B> <1st innings>
e.g. England 300 and 150/7, Australia 350.
<Side A> <1st innings> and <2nd innings>, <Side B> <1st innings> and <2nd innings>
e.g. England 300 and 200, Australia 350 and 50/0.

However, if you ask a cricket fan "What's the score?" during a match, the reply will most likely be only the score for the innings in progress. Most fans will assume you know the scores of the previous innings already.

Extra Detail: Who's Winning?

This is a highly non-trivial question for cricket. Simply comparing the total number of runs scored so far can be useless, since one side might not have begun batting yet. The number of runs must be assessed in the context of how many innings have been completed, how many wickets have fallen in the current innings, and how much time has elapsed or how many overs have been bowled. A proper assessment can only be made once you are familiar with typical scoring rates and patterns of wickets in an innings.

Some examples of two-innings matches:

New Zealand 200/2. 200 is a good score with only 2 wickets lost, so New Zealand are in a strong position in this match.
New Zealand 200/8. 200 is a poor score with 8 wickets down, so New Zealand are in a poor position in this match.
New Zealand 250, Sri Lanka 260/5. 260 is an average score with 5 wickets down, but Sri Lanka are already in the lead, so Sri Lanka is clearly winning.
New Zealand 250, Sri Lanka 220/8. 220 is a poor score with 8 wickets down, but it is close to New Zealand's total, so it is not clear who is in a better position.
New Zealand 250 and 50/5, Sri Lanka 220. New Zealand scored more runs in the first innings and has a lead, but a lead of 80 with 5 wickets lost is a poor lead, so New Zealand are in a poor position.
New Zealand 250 and 100/1, Sri Lanka 280. New Zealand scored fewer runs in the first innings but now has a lead and a good number of wickets in hand, so New Zealand are in a good position.
New Zealand 250 and 250, Sri Lanka 280 and 100/5, with one hour left to play on the last day. Sri Lanka needs 121 runs to win, and New Zealand needs 5 wickets. This is fairly evenly balanced, but the time is running out and most likely neither side has enough time to achieve victory, so both sides are in a poor position and the match will likely be drawn.

Some examples of one-day matches:

West Indies 100/2 in 20 overs. This is a good score, with runs being scored quickly, so West Indies are in a strong position.
West Indies 100/2 in 35 overs. This is a good score in terms of runs and wickets, but the runs are being scored slowly, so West Indies are in a poor position.
West Indies 250, South Africa 200/2 in 45 overs. Although South Africa has wickets in hand, scoring 51 runs to win in just 5 overs is very difficult, so West Indies are in a strong position.
West Indies 250, South Africa 200/6 in 25 overs. Although South Africa has lost several wickets, scoring 51 runs to win in 25 overs is quite easy, so South Africa are in a strong position.

In baseball, if the team batting last scores enough runs to win, it wins by a number of runs. The number of outs left is unimportant. In cricket, if the team batting last scores enough runs to win, it wins by a number of wickets. The margin in runs is unimportant.

In baseball, if a team wins without having to bat its last inning, it wins by a number of runs. The spare inning is unimportant. In cricket, if a side wins without having to bat its last innings, it wins by an innings and a number of runs, which is a much bigger margin than just the number of runs.

The Final Score

As before, the number of runs a side scores in its first and second innings are not added together when expressing the final score.

If the side batting second scored enough runs to win, its score would usually still be expressed with the wickets indicated, since that gives the winning margin.
e.g. England 300 and 200, Australia 350 and 151/2. Australia won by 8 wickets.
If the side batting second lost all its wickets before scoring enough runs to tie or win, its score would revert to runs alone.
e.g. England 300 and 200, Australia 350 and 130. England won by 20 runs.
If time ran out before the side batting second could score enough runs to win, or lose all its wickets, its score would retain its wickets.
e.g. England 300 and 200, Australia 350 and 130/8. Match drawn.
If the side batting second scored exactly enough runs to tie and lost all its wickets, its score would revert to runs alone.
e.g. England 300 and 200, Australia 350 and 150. Match tied.
If one side only needed to bat once, the margin includes an extra innings.
e.g. India 600, Pakistan 300 and 250. India won by an innings and 50 runs.

The Scorecard

In baseball, the important statistics of a game are summarised in a box score. In cricket, the important statistics of a game are summarised in a scorecard.

During or after a match, all of the important statistics of the match can be summarised in a scorecard. This is laid out in a standardised manner, so that cricket fans can instantly find and recognise statistics of interest.

The important statistics are:

Which teams are playing, where, when, and in what series or for what prize.
Who won the toss.
The result of the match.
Who won the Man of the Match award.
The scores at the close of play each day.
For each innings in sequence:
- The batting order.
- For each batsman:
  - How many runs he scored.
  - How many minutes he batted.
  - How many balls he faced.
  - How many 4s and 6s he scored.
  - How he got out, or his status at the end of the innings if he did not get out.
- The number and type of extras scored.
- The number of wickets lost.
- The number of overs bowled.
- The total score for the batting side.
- The fall of wicket scores for each wicket.
- The bowling figures for each bowler who bowled, being:
  - The number of overs bowled.
  - The number of maiden overs bowled.
  - The number of runs conceded.
  - The number of wickets taken.
Any additional notes of interest, such as weather interruptions, player injuries, crowd attendance figures, historical records broken during the match, etc.

A full scorecard looks something like this (an explanation follows):

Test # 1110 The Frank Worrell Trophy, 1988/89, 2nd Test Australia v West Indies W.A.C.A. Ground, Perth 2,3,4,5,6 December 1988 (5-day match) Result: West Indies won by 169 runs West Indies leads the 5-Test series 2-0 Toss: Australia Umpires: RC Bailhache and TA Prue Man of the Match: MG Hughes Close of Play: Day 1: West Indies 280/4 (Richards 95*, Logie 30*) Day 2: West Indies 449, Australia 119/1 (Boon 65*, Veletta 7*) Day 3: Australia 395/8d, West Indies 2/1 (Haynes 0*, Richardson 2*) Day 4: West Indies 331/8 (Ambrose 8*, Walsh 12*) West Indies 1st innings R M B 4 6 CG Greenidge b Lawson 40 107 81 8 0 DL Haynes lbw b Hughes 11 40 24 1 0 RB Richardson c Boon b Hughes 66 186 138 9 0 CL Hooper c Boon b Lawson 26 60 43 3 0 *IVA Richards c Dodemaide b Lawson 146 195 150 21 3 AL Logie c Waugh b May 93 295 188 14 0 +PJL Dujon c Veletta b May 32 116 86 6 0 MD Marshall c Veletta b Hughes 4 4 4 1 0 CEL Ambrose c Healy b Hughes 8 31 32 0 0 CA Walsh not out 0 6 2 0 0 BP Patterson c Dodemaide b Hughes 1 2 2 0 0 Extras (b 1, lb 12, nb 9) 22 Total (all out, 123.1 overs) 449 FoW: 1-16 (Haynes), 2-82 (Greenidge), 3-126 (Hooper), 4-180 (Richardson), 5-343 (Richards), 6-421 (Dujon), 7-426 (Marshall), 8-440 (Ambrose), 9-448 (Logie), 10-449 (Patterson). Bowling O M R W Lawson 32 7 97 3 Hughes 36.1 7 130 5 Dodemaide 17 1 79 0 Waugh 28 3 90 0 May 10 3 40 2 Australia 1st innings R M B 4 6 GR Marsh c Richardson b Walsh 30 104 87 5 0 DC Boon c Logie b Ambrose 80 201 110 10 0 MRJ Veletta run out 11 78 64 1 0 GM Wood c Richardson b Ambrose 111 243 176 12 0 *AR Border c Dujon b Ambrose 6 13 6 1 0 SR Waugh c Dujon b Ambrose 91 202 142 11 1 +IA Healy lbw b Marshall 8 42 35 0 0 AIC Dodemaide not out 7 50 22 0 0 TBA May c Richards b Ambrose 2 9 10 0 0 GF Lawson retired hurt 0 4 2 0 0 Extras (b 5, lb 9, nb 35) 49 Total (8 wickets declared, 100.3 overs) 395 DNB: MG Hughes. FoW: 1-83 (Marsh), 2-138 (Veletta), 3-152 (Boon), 4-167 (Border), 5-367 (Waugh), 6-374 (Wood), 7-388 (Healy), 8-395 (May). Bowling O M R W Marshall 23 3 84 1 Patterson 16 1 95 0 Walsh 19 3 58 1 Ambrose 23.3 3 72 5 Richards 14 0 43 0 Hooper 5 0 29 0 West Indies 2nd innings R M B 4 6 CG Greenidge lbw b Hughes 0 1 1 0 0 DL Haynes c Healy b Hughes 100 286 194 12 0 RB Richardson c Healy b Hughes 48 150 130 6 0 CL Hooper c Dodemaide b Hughes 64 160 120 6 2 *IVA Richards lbw b Hughes 5 15 10 1 0 AL Logie b Hughes 30 83 55 4 0 +PJL Dujon c Dodemaide b Hughes 9 20 18 2 0 MD Marshall c Healy b Dodemaide 23 35 35 2 1 CEL Ambrose c Wood b Hughes 15 41 23 1 0 CA Walsh not out 17 35 22 0 0 BP Patterson not out 6 6 6 0 0 Extras (b 14, lb 9, nb 9) 32 Total (9 wickets declared, 98 overs) 349 FoW: 1-0 (Greenidge), 2-103 (Richardson), 3-216 (Haynes), 4-236 (Richards), 5-246 (Hooper), 6-259 (Dujon), 7-300 (Marshall), 8-310 (Logie), 9-341 (Ambrose). Bowling O M R W Hughes 37 9 87 8 Dodemaide 24 2 101 1 Waugh 23 1 70 0 May 14 1 68 0 Australia 2nd innings (target: 404 runs) R M B 4 6 GR Marsh c Logie b Marshall 6 25 17 1 0 DC Boon b Patterson 4 20 12 0 0 MRJ Veletta c Dujon b Marshall 13 33 18 2 0 GM Wood c Greenidge b Walsh 42 103 66 8 0 *AR Border b Hooper 26 131 88 2 0 SR Waugh c Hooper b Patterson 26 69 48 4 0 +IA Healy c Logie b Ambrose 52 123 83 4 0 AIC Dodemaide lbw b Ambrose 11 70 46 0 0 TBA May not out 8 48 33 1 0 MG Hughes c Logie b Ambrose 0 4 5 0 0 GF Lawson absent hurt - Extras (b 5, lb 4, nb 37) 46 Total (all out, 63 overs) 234 FoW: 1-14 (Boon), 2-14 (Marsh), 3-46 (Veletta), 4-93 (Wood), 5-138 (Border), 6-140 (Waugh), 7-190 (Dodemaide), 8-232 (Healy), 9-234 (Hughes). Bowling O M R W Marshall 12 0 50 2 Patterson 14 2 58 2 Ambrose 17 1 66 3 Walsh 15 1 46 1 Hooper 5 2 5 1 Notes: * GF Lawson retired hurt at 395/8 (fractured jaw)

This scorecard tells us, in sequence:

This is the 1,110th Test match ever played.
It is part of the Frank Worrell Trophy series of the 1988/89 season, being the 2nd Test in the series.
The sides playing were Australia and the West Indies. The home side is listed first.
The match was played at the W.A.C.A. Ground in the city of Perth, on the dates 2-6 December, 1988.
The West Indies won the match by 169 runs, giving them a 2-0 lead in the series of 5 Tests.
Australia won the toss.
The names of the two field umpires and the winner of the Man of the Match award.
Abbreviated scores at the close of play for each of the first four days. Note that innings completed on days before the day in question are not given. The names and scores of the not out batsmen at the end of each day are listed in parentheses - the asterisk indicates not out. Australia's score on day 3 of 395/8d means 395 runs for 8 wickets declared.
Each of the four innings listed in detail:
- The first line indicates the name of the side and the number of the innings.
- Listed below that are the names of the batsmen who batted, in the batting order for that innings. The asterisk prefix indicates the captain, the plus sign prefix indicates the wicket-keeper.
- On each line following the batsman's name is:
  - How he got out. This uses two columns, the first indicating the method of getting out, including the fielder's name in cases of catches and stumpings, the second indicating the bowler's name. The abbreviation "c" means "caught", "b" means "bowled". If the first column is empty, the batsman was out bowled. The first column also indicates if the batsman was not out, retired hurt, or absent hurt.
  - Five columns of numbers, headed by the abbreviations "R M B 4 6". These are the number of runs scored, the number of minutes spent batting, the number of balls faced, the number of 4s scored, and the number of 6s scored.
- The line after the last batsman lists the extras scored in the innings, broken down in parentheses with the abbreviations "b, lb, nb, w" which refer to byes, leg byes, no balls, and wides.
- The next line gives the total of all the runs scored in the innings, being the sum of the runs scored by each batsman plus the extras. In parentheses this line lists the number of wickets fallen and the number of overs bowled. The number after the decimal point in overs bowled is the number of balls bowled in an incomplete over, not a decimal fraction of an over.
- If any batsmen did not bat during the innings, their names are listed after the abbreviation "DNB", meaning "did not bat".
- The fall of wicket scores are listed after the abbreviation "FoW". Each fall of wicket score lists the wicket to fall first, then the side's total runs, then the name of the batsman to get out in parentheses.
- The fielding side's bowling figures are then listed in a table showing:
  - The name of each bowler, listed in the order in which they first bowled during the innings.
  - Four columns of numbers headed "O M R W". These are the number of overs bowled, the number of maiden overs bowled, the number of runs conceded, and the number of wickets taken.
After all the innings, supplemental notes are listed, in this case noting that GF Lawson retired hurt in Australia's first innings with a fractured jaw. As can be seen by the West Indies second innings, Lawson did not bowl during that innings, and as can be seen from the "absent hurt" notation in Australia's second innings, Lawson did not bat again in the match.

In some scorecards, particularly historical ones before more comprehensive records were kept, the columns indicating the number of balls faced and fours and sixes scored by a batsmen may be missing. The minutes column may also be left off in some presentations.

In some scorecards, particularly for modern one-day matches, the bowling figures include two additional columns, indicating the number of no balls and wides bowled by each bowler.